Media Release: Jewish Care Victoria

Longstanding supporters Richard and Marietta Manders OBM (Z’L), who were responsible for an extraordinary $3.5M bequest to Jewish Care, were remembered and celebrated at a special commemoration held on Sunday, February 8.

The bequest was received by Jewish Care in 2012. However, because Richard and Marietta had no surviving family members, Jewish Care had no one with whom to share its gratitude for their outstanding contribution and longstanding support — until contact was made recently with a small group of their friends.

Attended by staff, clients and a circle of their closest friends, the commemoration was held at Jewish Care’s Richard and Marietta Manders Villas for adults with a disability. The Villas were named in the couple’s honour following receipt of the bequest.

Like Richard and Marietta, many of their friends are Holocaust survivors and shared their spirit of philanthropy.

Speaking on behalf of the Board of Jewish Care, Susie Ivany stated that “Richard and Marietta represented a generation for whom giving came naturally. Their bequest to Jewish Care expressed one of the highest forms of tzedaka — helping people they would never meet, in ways they would never know.”

As longstanding donors to Jewish Care for over 30 years, the second floor of Gary Smorgon House was also named to acknowledge their generous donation towards that facility. Epworth Hospital also benefitted from their ongoing support.

Ms Ivany pointed out that the Manders’ gift had significantly boosted Jewish Care’s endowment fund, and together with other bequests, comprised the “down payment” from which Jewish Care’s current capital development program was launched.

Residents of Manders Villas were on hand to showcase the facility, whose foundation stone aptly sums up Richard and Marietta’s charitable spirit: “Kol areivim Israel ze ba zeh – We are all responsible for one another”.

Many guests expressed their gratitude to Jewish Care for calling the commemorative event and for keeping their friends’ memory alive.